Ascended to the summit of Si via the Teneriffe fire road, essentially coming in from the northeast. I would not recommend this route to anyone- it's a tedious, worthless road slog. The only saving grace was the amazing view of the snow covered Haystack from the north- a view most folks never see.

Got an early start as the sun was coming up. Climbed with 35lbs of water bottles in my pack to condition my legs. Great view from the summit gave way to fog, wind, and clouds shortly after getting there.

I wasn't keeping track of dates of peaks climbed when i did this. But i do remember how cool it was. I had lived in seattle and was on vacation with a friend that had never been to the Northwest. We arrived at night from Idaho so they were pretty shocked by all the vegetation. Particularly how big the ferns get and how dizzying it can be looking straight up in the middle of all the trees...

For anyone living in Seattle, Mt. Si is a close, beautiful hike, and effective for training too. Have gone both light and heavy, in winter and summer. First time remember tons of snow and the Gray Jays on top. My second time, I topped the haystack in poor weather. From the top, a seasoned mountaineer pointed out the different peaks of the Eastern Front of the Olympics, singling out The Brothers, and my future became clear. Notably, saw a family of short-tailed weasels running among the summit rocks in the summer.

This is a great, if slightly long (probably due to the line that forms near the top) and monotonous climb with great views from the top. My wife and I have not tried the Haystack yet, but from what I hear, the views aren't worth the scramble. The first time we did Mount Si, there was snow and ice on the trail for the last mile with clear views at the top. The second time was regular old dirt from start to finish with clouds and not much of a view at all. This is a great training hike, but I'm not a huge fan of the number of people on the trail. There tends to be a larger-than-normal number of rude hikers, too.

Busy, crowded hike up to the plateau area. Everyone, it seems, stays there, while few continue to the true summit. Reaching the base of the Haystack, DB and I headed straight up the steepish (class 4-5) terrain left of the standard scrambling route. Good exposure and a nice summit.